Gregory Edwards knows the four video cameras monitoring his South Side home are no guarantee it won’t be targeted yet again by thieves trying to steal copper or aluminum to trade for quick money at scrap yards.
“No matter what, I’m never comfortable,” said Edwards, 31, who installed the cameras after his home in West Chesterfield was vandalized twice in the last year by people trying to get metal to trade for cash. “I’m not paranoid or anything, but it’s just best to be prepared (instead of) upset.”
Thefts of valuable metal — from gutters and downspouts to cemetery plaques and catalytic converters — have long plagued city neighborhoods and suburbs. State legislators passed a law nearly five years ago tightening regulations on scrap dealers. But high metal prices and the sputtering economy have continued to motivate criminals trying to turn someone else’s property into their profit.
Now, state lawmakers are trying to toughen the law again to force scrap dealers to keep better records and to make it more difficult for people to sell stolen goods.
Victims welcome the crackdown but also say they’re skeptical that any law can better regulate the scrap industry or dissuade thieves who aren’t afraid to pull off heists in broad daylight.
Just last weekend, several of Edwards’ neighbors had metal gates stolen from their yards. And Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th, said residents of Chatham and Park Manor have called his office in recent weeks to report that thieves took the metal flaps that cover mail slots in older brick homes, as well as other ornamental decorations.
The thefts shake the sense of security in stable neighborhoods and threaten the aesthetic appeal of the area’s housing stock, Sawyer said.
“A lot of the beautiful masonry work and some of these decorative items, it’s a characteristic of the homes in our community,” he said. “Taking that away, it’s like putting crayons on a Picasso.”
Current state law requires scrap dealers to record details of purchases worth $100 or more, including making a copy of the seller’s government-issued identification card and recording the make, model and license plate number of the car the seller was driving.
A bill that passed the House last month and is now in the Senate would require those steps for all sales at scrap yards, regardless of price. It also would require that dealers pay by check instead of cash for some of the most popular items, including some air conditioner parts worth more than $100.
Dealers also would have to keep the sales records for three years instead of two, in case police need to review them.
Under the new bill, people caught trying to sell stolen metal could also be forced to pay for the damages caused by the theft.
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“There are people who are afraid to put a for-sale sign or a for-rent sign in front of their house,” said Rep. Mike Unes, R-East Peoria, one of the chief sponsors of the bill. “This (bill) is for them.”
Copper and aluminum prices took a hit during the recession that began in 2008, but the prices have rebounded and have generally been climbing over the last decade, according to MetalPrices.com, a company that tracks the price of metals.
From 2008 to 2011, the average price of copper increased by nearly 90 cents to just over $4 a pound.
Phillip Thomas, president and CEO of eta Creative Arts Foundation in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood, has seen how the increase in metal prices has motivated thieves. The three air conditioners on the roof of the foundation’s theater were vandalized several times in 2010 and 2011, before protective cages were installed around them. The last round of repairs and the installation of the cages cost about $50,000, Thomas said.
“I really want people to understand this is not a victimless crime,” Thomas said. “This hurts our community.”
Sawyer said he started getting calls about metal thefts as soon as he took office last year. Targeting scrap dealers who buy stolen items is the only way to combat the problem because dealers provide the money that motivates the thieves, he said.
“It’s got to start with them,” he said. “I know it may be a challenge, but we have to find a way so that they can be accountable (for) what they accept from people when they, in their heart of hearts, know that something’s stolen.”
Owners of scrap metal recycling centers say they know some people try to sell stolen them goods, but many say it’s hard to tell honest sellers from thieves.
“We do what we can,” said Yaakov Bassman, who owns Bucktown Recycling. “It’s a few people who make it hard for everyone else and give the business a bad name.”
Still, other scrap metal recycling centers say the labor and costs needed to keep paper or electronic sales records might be too expensive for some companies.
But Charles Patton, 59, whose gate was stolen last month from his home in West Chesterfield, welcomed the proposed regulations, which he hoped would prevent future thefts.
“It wasn’t nothing fabulous,” Patton said of his gate. “It was just a regular chain-link fence, but it belonged to me.”
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